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Leadership in governance

When EPCOR was formed in 1996, it was unique – the first strategic linking of a power and water utility in Canada, and a dynamic market-oriented organization with a mandate to grow beyond its hometown and create value for its sole shareholder, the City of Edmonton.

To steward this vision, the shareholder established an independent Board of Directors, composed of business and community leaders, with no employees or elected officials on the board. Over the subsequent quarter-century, this model has proved resilient and successful, winning EPCOR national recognition for excellence in corporate governance, preserving value through rigorous risk management processes, and growing the company into a North American leader.

 

This success of EPCOR's governance model has delivered significant value to the shareholder. EPCOR's annual dividend has grown from $62 million to $177 million – and despite market transformations, a financial crisis, and a global pandemic, the annual dividend has never been cut.

The board is responsible for the overall stewardship and governance of the company, delivering long-term value to our shareholder and ensuring we provide clean water and safe reliable energy to our customers, and foster success with all our stakeholders.

EPCOR is committed to demonstrating leadership in corporate governance, and continuously reviews and improves our governance systems to ensure they meet or exceed the standards of evolving securities, regulatory and market environments.

EPCOR’s commitment to sound governance and leadership in sustainability was further demonstrated in 2021. This was seen through an elevated profile placed on our ESG agenda, at both the executive level and throughout our long-term plan. 2021 also brought significant investment approvals for major projects and priorities, and continued growth in our U.S. and Canada operations all with a focus on providing reliable services to a growing base of customers, in a responsible and sustainable manner. ​

Following the launch of our 25 measures and 17 targets in 2020, oversight for our ESG agenda was designated to a member of our senior leadership team and our commitments were widely promoted across the organization. Moving forward, EPCOR’s Senior Vice President, Sustainability, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary will drive our cross-organizational approach to sustainability, ensuring shared ESG responsibilities are ingrained in both our operations and culture — demonstrating care for the future of our environment, our dedicated teams, and the communities we serve.

See our statement of corporate governance practices and features


































​Scorecard at a glance

The following selection of performance measures, performance data and targets speak to the importance we place on governance. Our commitment to diversity and ethical operations is evident through our strong performance in this area.​

Board independence

​100%​

Percentage of Directors who are independent under National Instrument 58-101.
2017
​100%
2018
100%​
2019​100%​
​2020
100%
​2021
​100%​​

Target: At least 67% of Directors are independent under National Instrument 58-101.

Board gender diversity

36%

Share of board seats held by women. Four out of 11 of EPCOR's board seats are held by women, including the position of board chair.
​2017
36%​
2018​36%​
2019​
​36%
2020​36%​
​2021​​
36%​

Target: At least 30% of board seats are held by women.

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Employee ethics training

100%

Percentage of employees who have received training on EPCOR's Ethics Policy. Ethics training is provided to all employees and reported on every two years.
​​​2017
​N/A
​2018
100%​
​2019
N/A​
​2020
100%​
​2021
N/A​

Target: 100% of employees have received ethics training.

Ethics complaints actioned

​100%​

Number of ethics complaints received and the percentage investigated or otherwise resolved.​

​​​2017​
39/100%​
​2018
106/100%​
​2019
96/100%​
​2020
​80/100%
​2021
97/100%​

Target: 100% of ethics complaints have been investigated or otherwise resolved.

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​Behind the numbers: scorecard in co​​ntext

Our governance scorecard:

Affirms the foundational role of board independence, reporting on the percentage of directors who are independent under National Instrument 58-101. Having a strong base of independent directors allows the board to benefit from broad leadership experience, a range of perspectives and uninfluenced guidance, resulting in a sharp focus on responsible governance and ethical operations. EPCOR has reported on director independence since the company's inception in 1996.

Promotes the company's commitment to diversity, reporting on the gender composition of the board and our representation threshold. The drive for gender diversity is not only a part of our efforts across teams and ranks in the organization, it’s a priority at the board level, as well. According to the 2021 Diversity Disclosure Practices report by Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, women now hold just over 23% of board seats among TSX-listed companies in Canada that disclose the number of women on their boards — an increase of about two points over the previous year. EPCOR exceeds this national average by more than ten points, and continues to have one of the few woman-led boards in Canada.

Upholds the commitment to high ethical standards, reporting on emplo​yee ethics training, and the volume and handling of ethics complaints. In addition, the company provides multiple channels for anonymous reporting, promotes the reporting of complaints and concerns, has a no retaliation policy to protect whistleblowers, and is committed to independently investigating every complaint. This is further supported by training on EPCOR's ethics policy.

​Featured stories

EPCOR’s commitment to excellence, sound decision making and diversity starts at the very top.



Striking the right balance

EPCOR must meet the needs of many: customers, its shareholder and regulators, along with the environment and communities it serves. Long-term planning and performance targets are two key ways the company stays transparent and accountable to all.
How we're striking the right balance
 

Board diversity at EPCOR

Ensuring EPCOR’s Board of Directors is reflective of the people and communities we serve, as well as balances a broad range of skills, experience and attributes is an ongoing process.

Learn more from our Board Chair​​

​Governance outlook and performance update

EPCOR has a sustained record of high performance on board independence, ethics conduct and monitoring, and corporate reputation.

The company's commitment to equal the governance of the best publicly-traded firms requires an ongoing evaluation and evolution in the company's governance practices – and consideration of changes in regulatory and market context. As our practices change, we expect to update our Statement of Corporate Governance Practices, and provide commentary on those changes in future ESG reports.

We continue to monitor the potential for diversity reporting practices to expand and include additional attributes. For example, as of 2020, publicly-traded corporations governed by the Canada Business Corporations Act are required to provide additional diversity disclosures respecting Aboriginal persons, visible minorities and persons with disabilities on the board and senior management. While EPCOR is incorporated pursuant to the Business Corporations Act (Alberta) the company continues to track the evolution in disclosure requirements, and consider the expansion of diversity reporting to include additional attributes in future reports.

Long-term plan

In 2021, the board and executive reviewed the priorities within our long-term plan and what lies ahead for our ESG journey. This resulted in a vision for EPCOR in 2031, as a premier essential services company, retaining outstanding talent across our workforce, creating value for our stakeholders, and achieving our mission to provide clean water and safe, reliable energy to the communities that count on us.

Our long-term planning

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​Performance Based Regulation (PBR) rate applications

2021 marked the approval of EPCOR’s latest Performance Based Regulation (PBR) rate applications by the City of Edmonton, as regulator of the municipality’s water cycle utilities. The PBR incentivizes EPCOR to find efficiencies and reduce costs while maintaining established performance levels. Much of our sustainability work is supported through the PBR process.

More about the PBR process​​​